Me leaning ! No what you see above is a vane attempt by the editorial staff to try and make me look a little more macho, The idea being to show me in the style of those old movie glamour shots, a person both stylish, suave, urbane and light-hearted. Up till now I rather liked the effect, but you just can't win can you. Mind you Mr Murdin, have a care, for that photograph has a history behind it, for it's a souvenir of the last time I got conned into standing by the political party I claim membership of, for my local Council.

Got to have a nice photo they said, none of those shifty looking mug shots you have taken in a photo both. So step forward my prize winning photographic friend, who after remarking that it would take more then his talents to turn a downright slob like me into a politician my would be voters could trust.

So ordering me to get my haircut and beard trimmed, my photographic friend for the cost of a few beers, clicked away and after a few hours spent slaving in the darkroom came up with the above result. Posters and leaflets were produced with photo and political message included, and confident that I had the other two candidates on the run I set off to post said leaflets through the doors of the community. Needless to say, the good citizens had other ideas and whilst I came second, in local Politics as in so much else in life, there is no prize for coming in second.

There is something else you should be aware off Mr Murdin. You see in recently surfing the dreaded net, I came across an American Rookard family history page. Interested that a branch of the family were now, god forbid 'Yanks' (not a thing one would normally admit too.) I keyed into it asking for more information. Now here's the interesting bit. One of them came back with the information that they had traced the family back to late fourteenth century Italy, where a certain Mrs and Mrs Angelo adopted a stray child called Michael Rookard. A lad of artistic bent. (oh come on, keep up).

Now I don't believe a word of this, basically because an American told me, But it could be an answer to one of histories great mysteries, to wit why did Michelangelo go over the top in his painting of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, when as is well known the Pope just wanted a cheep whitewash job. Typical of us Rookards that was, four years laying on his back, stretching what should have been a week long job. I'm just surprised they left his graffiti where it was.

ENDS